


Someone you loved...

by Babbling



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Age Difference, Angst, Break Up, Break Up Talk, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, Falling In Love, First Dates, Fluff, Getting Together, Holding Hands, Kissing, Long-Term Relationship(s), Love Confessions, Love Triangles, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:33:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21898951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Babbling/pseuds/Babbling
Summary: What to do, when a relationship seemingly doesn't work anymore?That's a question, Junhee has to answer himself after having been in one for nearly six years. In the beginning they had thought it would be forever, somewhere in the middle it then had gotten pretty clear that they didn't seem to work out and, when Junhee meets a small boy with lively eyes, he realizes that it might has never been meant to be in the first place.
Relationships: Kim Byeongkwan/Park Junhee | Jun, Lee Donghun/Park Junhee | Jun
Comments: 28
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The_Eye_Of_The_Storm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Eye_Of_The_Storm/gifts).



> Hi, I'm back :") dw I'll finish 5tar and Sunflower soon but first I wrote another failed one shot...I say failed bc it once again got way too long :") I'm still happy with it tho uwu
> 
> Btw I thought about it and the song that is playing in the radio is [Different by Woodz](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e8DfkZ0HDXE) I really like this song uwu

“Jun-ah, are you coming?” Junhee rolled his eyes, while he looked at himself in the mirror. Typical...Donghun needed what felt like an eternity to get ready but then always told him to hurry so that they wouldn’t be late. It was one of the things that annoyed Junhee more than anything else and he felt the urge to simply stay at home. Their mutual best friend had invited them for dinner to celebrate his birthday and they were supposed to be there in 30 minutes. 

“Can’t you wait five more minutes?!” He called back, deciding that he was more in the mood to wear something dark than the white shirt that he had first put on. 

“But then we’ll be late!” 

“And whose fault is that?” Junhee mumbled to himself, taking out one of his black shirts carelessly. They would be late anyways so what did five more minutes matter that much? It wasn’t like Chan would rip off their heads for being late.

He was in the middle of changing, when suddenly the door got opened and Donghun appeared inside the doorframe, looking as annoyed as Junhee felt.

“Are you kidding me? I literally just told you that we’ll be late!” 

“I’m nearly done! Jeez relax! What’s gotten into you today?!” Donghun opened his mouth, only to close and then open it again.

“Nothing...” He said eventually, before he closed the door behind himself with a loud bang.

* * *

The drive to Chan’s apartment was mainly silent, only interrupted by Junhee giving his boyfriend directions now and then. 

The younger didn’t like the silence between them. One of the things that had made him fall in love with Donghun in the first place had been their conversations that always had went on for hours and gone from talking about the meaning of life to arguing about the best cereal. 

Nowadays, however, he didn’t see Donghun often since they were both working a lot and when they happened to come across each other in their shared apartment, there was either nothing to say or they often started to argue about the most random things. It was so different from, when they first had started dating and Junhee more and more often noticed himself missing those times. 

“About earlier...I’m sorry...” Donghun suddenly spoke up into the silence and Junhee gave him a quick glance before he looked out of the window again. This, too, was something that happened regularly these days. They argued about a minor incident and after a while of not talking, Donghun apologised, followed by Junhee doing the same. His boyfriend always was the first one to speak up, even, when it hadn’t been his fault and for some reason that realisation only made the younger feel even angrier. It was as if Donghun didn’t even really care about their fights, as if he simply wanted them to be solved without really solving them. 

“It’s okay...” Junhee said, trying to sound as casual as Donghun, while he watched trees and houses passing by. “I was wrong too...”

“Then this is resolved?” 

“Mmmh...” They went back to their former silence and every dense person would have noticed that there was nothing resolved. The real problem was still hovering over them like an invisible, dark cloud, but none of them were brave enough to address it and therefore they simply pretended everything was all right and Junhee hated it.

* * *

“Jun! Donghun! Come on in!” Chan greeted them, seemingly already a bit tipsy and therefore very excited and loud. 

“My other two friends are already here so we can start with the food now.” Junhee frowned, before he asked,

“You have other friends?” At the same time in which Donghun said,

“Sorry that we are late.” Chan looked at them both with an astounded expression, before a grin appeared on his face.

“Don’t worry about it. I can’t remember the last time, when I was on time.” He laughed, before he turned to Junhee. “To answer your question; I met them through my university...well one of them, and they are really chill so I thought, I should just invite them too. We have space since Yeona won’t be coming…” He looked a bit sad and Junhee wanted to say something to make him feel better but Donghun was faster

“Wohaaa, our Channi is finally making some friends!” He exclaimed and then threw himself at the younger, fondly strangling him (if one could ever call strangling that), while ruffling his hair. Chan started screaming loudly, stumbling towards the living room, while Junhee watched them fondly. The three of them had been together for a long time now, so that it even felt like they were family and Junhee couldn’t imagine them not being together. Again, the fear and doubts returned but he quickly brushed them away. 

This wasn’t the right time to think about this.

“Chan, do you want your present or can I keep it?” He called after his friend and then followed them. By the time, he reached the living room, he had already forgotten about Chan’s new friends and because of that he was a bit surprised to see Donghun greeting two strangers that were sitting close to each other on the sofa. 

When he entered the room, the attention suddenly was on him and he felt a bit uncomfortable under the stares, while he crossed the room and placed himself next to Donghun who wrapped an arm around his waist nearly automatically. 

“And this is my boyfriend...Junhee.” He continued his introduction and the younger smiled at the two men on the sofa that returned it with friendly expressions. Both of them were really handsome but the smaller one especially caught Junhee’s attention. His eyes were unusual light and, in the way, that he looked at him it felt as if the man was staring directly into Junhee’s soul, discovering all his darkest secrets and doubts that he didn’t even admit to himself and he decided that he didn’t like that feeling. 

“I’m Sehyoon and this is Byeongkwan.” The other man now introduced them too, while his friend - apparently Byeongkwan - kept on staring at Junhee. He wanted to escape the piercing eyes but he didn’t know how to, without coming off as rude. Luckily Chan was the one saving him.

“Juuuuun! I need your help!” He called from the kitchen and his desperate voice made it obvious that it was urgent. 

“Oh...I’ll better go and make sure that he doesn’t burn down the house.” Junhee quickly excused himself and walked towards the kitchen. On the way he still felt Byeongkwan’s eyes on his back. 

* * *

After having declared Chan’s burned try to cook as inedible, they decided to order pizza and the evening turned out pretty enjoyable after all. Even though Byeongkwan was still staring at him too often for it to still feel comfortable, Junhee did a good job ignoring it after having drunken some glasses of wine. He started to relax and even did a small dance battle against Chan which he won because the younger was too drunk to stand upright for too long. Meanwhile Donghun and the other two were dying of laughter. Sehyoon and Byeongkwan were cuddling on the sofa and under the influence of the alcohol Junhee couldn’t tame his curiosity any longer.

“Sooo...” He spoke up, sitting down next to his boyfriend. “Are you two really just friends or is there more going on?” Immediately the two stopped laughing only for Sehyoon to start again a second later, it somehow sounding a bit forced, while Byeongkwan turned red for some reason. 

“No, we are just really close friends...But don’t worry, most people think, we are a couple at first.” 

“I know Sehyoon since we were kids...therefor thinking about dating him feels a bit like thinking about dating my brother...” Byeongkwan cringed at the imagination, before he quickly added,

“Not that he isn’t really handsome and perfect boyfriend material! Whoever will end up dating him is really lucky.” 

“Awee, thank you.” Sehyoon cooed and softly ruffled his best friend’s hair, a light blush on his cheeks. “I can only say the same about you. Byeongi is really competitive and the worst perfectionist, I know, which can be really annoying but I couldn’t wish for a better friend.” 

“I know the perfectionist thing from somewhere...” Donghun mumbled in a teasing tone and earned a slap from Junhee.

“So how about you two? How long have you been together?” Sehyoon looked at them interested.

“Oh, they have been dating for ages!” Chan answered him, before one of them got the chance to, returning with another wine bottle in his hand.

“Really? How long exactly?” 

“Next month it will be six years!” The two stared at them in astonishment.

“6 years?!” Byeongkwan said, for some reason sounding like that wasn’t something entirely positive

“We were Highschool sweethearts.” Junhee explained, noticing very well how Donghun kept silent. He quickly took another sip from his wine, before he continued, turning to Donghun,

“I think you asked me out at the beginning of 11th grade? Was it for coffee?” 

“Cinema...” Donghun corrected him and Junhee couldn’t help but smile at that memory. 

“Oh right...I remember...You knew very well how easily I get scared and you still took me to watch a horror movie! On our first date!” At this Donghun started to laugh.

“You screamed so much that someone from the staff came and asked if everything was okay. We had to leave after not even an hour.” 

“I swore myself to never go out with you again!”

“And you still did...” Donghun said, suddenly sounding more serious again but also extremely fond and Junhee felt his heart skip painfully. 

Yes, he hadn’t been able to turn Donghun down, after the latter had asked him out a second time, already having fallen too deep. So, what had happened that all of this was nothing more than a fond memory now? 

“That sounds really cute.” Sehyoon’s voice interrupted the thoughts that had piled up in his mind and Junhee looked back up, noticing how once again Byeongkwan was staring at him. He nearly rolled his eyes in annoyance. Was there nothing else to look at?! 

“Cute? They were disgusting! It sucks, when your two best friends are dating, believe me... It got a lot better though. I don’t know, when was the last time that I’ve seen you kiss...” An uncomfortable silence rose, only interrupted by Donghun clearing his throat.

“Yes...well...we grew up...” He said lamely and Junhee nearly started to laugh. As if them drifting further and further apart from each other had anything to do with them becoming adults. The stinging pain in his heart returned and for some reasons, he felt tears gathering in his eyes. He blamed it on the alcohol; it had always made him more emotional than he already was. 

“I...uhhh... I’ll go to the toilet for a second!” He for some reason felt the need to announce, before he fled out of the room and locked himself inside the bathroom. There he sunk to the ground, burying his face in his hands, while tears started streaming down his cheeks like torrents. Just how had he ended up here? When had been the point at which Donghun has stopped caring about him? 

A whimpering escaped his mouth and he quickly pressed a hand against his lips. He didn’t want the others to hear. Not Chan, his friends and especially not Donghun. It would destroy the pretty play about being in a perfectly fine relationship; that everything hadn’t started falling apart so long ago.

The sudden sound of someone softly knocking against the door made Junhee stop crying and looking up in shock. He quickly got back onto his feet and then stared into the mirror. The face that returned his stare was pale, the eyes red and puffy while the cheeks were still wet from crying. Junhee looked horrible and he had no idea how to explain this to his boyfriend except with the truth.

“Junhee...are you still in there?” A soft voice sounded through the dark wood of the door and Junhee froze. That wasn’t Donghun’s voice. He quickly splashed his face with cold water, trying to make himself look as normal as possible, before he hesitantly opened the door. 

The person appearing on the other side was nobody else than Byeongkwan, staring at him with his piercing eyes and he felt anger boiling up inside of him. Just why couldn’t this guy leave him alone?!

“Sorry...I really need to use the toilet too...” Byeongkwan explained, before he asked, “Is everything okay?” Junhee opened his mouth to reply that; _yes, everything was peachy_ , but the only thing that he got out was another whimpering, before the tears started to fall again. Stupid wine! It was all the wine’s fault!

Byeongkwan stared at him in horror, obviously not knowing what he should do with the crying man in front of him. After some seconds his brain seemingly decided that it would be the best thing to simply put a comforting hand on his shoulder, patting it awkwardly, while he looked around for help.

“Should I...Should I get your boyfriend?” He asked and Junhee urgently shook his head.

“No! I...I don’t want him to see me like this...” He explained in between his sobs, snuffling loudly and Byeongkwan nodded as if he could understand that wish.

“All right, then what else can I do?” 

“Nothing...I’ll just go home on my own.” Junhee said, already turning towards the door, but Byeongkwan quickly grabbed his wrist to hold him back.

“Wait! What are you doing?! You can’t drive, when you are drunk!” Junhee snorted. Just how dumb did the younger think, he was? 

“Of course, I’m not gonna drive! I’ll call a taxi...” Again, he tried to walk towards the door, but Byeongkwan was still not letting go of his wrist, holding onto it tightly. 

“That’s still dangerous! I...I can drive you...” He spoke the last part so quietly that Junhee wasn’t sure if he had heard correctly. He frowned confused.

“But didn’t you drink too?” A small smile appeared on Byeongkwan’s lips.

“No...I don’t like to drink that much.”

“Why?” The younger turned pink.

“I do weird things, when I’m drunk so...I don’t drink around people that I don’t know very well yet. Also...someone has to drive.” He finally let go of Junhee’s wrist and put his hands in the pockets of his jacket instead. The older had to admit that he looked weirdly adorable like that and before he knew, what his drunk brain was doing, he nodded. By now the tears had stopped falling and he was feeling more and more tired. He only wanted to be able to lie in his bed and he didn’t care much about how he got there.

“Okay, let’s go. I’ll text Yooni to tell them that I’m driving you home.” Again, Junhee nodded.

On their way to Junhee’s and Donghun’s shared apartment, they didn’t talk. It was similar to, when he had driven to Chan’s place some hours ago, but this time the silence felt more comfortable. Even though it was obvious that Byeongkwan had many questions, he wanted to ask him, he didn’t and Junhee was thankful for that. He had no idea how to answer them anyways. 

Instead Byeongkwan turned on the radio and the calming song that was playing, along with the soft humming of the car made Junhee’s eyes feel heavier and heavier, before he eventually fell asleep.

The next time, he awoke, was, when Beyongkwan was carefully shaking his shoulders. Junhee groaned, still feeling too tired to already getting up again.

“Hey...I’m sorry to wake you but we are here...and I don’t know your passcode.” The older blinked sleepily, his brain too slow to notice how close Byeongkwan’s face was in front of his own one. He did notice his pretty eyelashes though or how smooth the younger’s skin looked like. Then he came back to his senses and he quickly sat up. 

Immediately everything started spinning around him, but he tried his best to look as if everything was perfectly fine.

“It’s okay, I can go on my own from here.” 

“Are you sure?” Byeongkwan didn’t look convinced but Junhee nodded.

“Yes. I don’t want to keep you away from the fun so...” He made a hand gesture into the air which even he himself didn’t really know the meaning of. “Anyways...thank you for taking me home. I’ll try to make up for it somehow in the future.” Just like earlier Byeongkwan blushed at this.

“There is no need to! It really wasn’t a problem.” 

“Still...” Junhee mumbled and then turned around. “I’ll go now...Thank you...” He somehow managed to stumble inside his apartment complex and even typed in the right passcode. 

Once he had actually made it inside, he didn’t bother to take a shower. The only thing he did, before falling into his bed, was to brush his teeth and take off his shoes and jeans. 

But even though he was feeling incredibly tired, he wasn’t able to fall asleep. There were too many thoughts circling in his head and like that, he was still wide awake, when Donghun came home not much later. 

“Jun-ah...” The latter pretended to be asleep. He didn’t feel like he had enough energy right now to cope with whatever was about to happen. “Jun...I know that you are not sleeping.” It was a statement and Junhee cursed the fact that Donghun knew him like nobody else did. Slowly, he sat up, however, without facing his boyfriend.

“Why the hell did you go home, without even telling me about it?!” It was obvious that Donghun was angry and a small part of Junhee could understand why. He would have been hurt too, to hear that his boyfriend had simply went home with another guy, without even saying goodbye. However, the younger’s pride was bigger than the reasonable part in him and therefore he just crossed his arms like a stubborn child. 

“I was tired and Byeongkwan offered to drive me home...so what? Did I need your consent?” 

“That’s not the problem and you know it...Why didn’t you tell me that you are going home?! We could have taken a taxi together! Instead I was waiting for you to come back like an idiot only for Sehyoon to tell me that Byeongkwan was driving you home!” Junhee still didn’t look at him. He knew Donghun was hurt, because he couldn’t understand his reasons but he also wasn’t able to tell him the truth without turning the elephant in the room into something real; something frightening. 

“I told you...I was tired...”

“That’s not true!” Donghun exclaimed frustrated. “Why are you not talking to me anymore? Why do you always pretend to be fine even though I can see that you are not? Did you forgot how long we’ve known each other?! I know, when something is up!” 

“Then what about you?! When did you stop caring about me?!” Silence...A horrible silence arose in which they stared each other down, while Junhee felt tears gathering in his eyes once again.

“How can you think that I don’t care about you anymore?” Donghun asked and the hurt in his voice added more pain to Junhee’s already hurting heart. “I could never stop caring about you...” 

“But you don’t love me anymore...” Again, there was silence, only getting interrupted by Donghun sighing in resignation. He knew his boyfriend well enough to know that this was a sign of defeat and Junhee felt the tears starting to roll down his face.

“I do! I do still love you...it’s just...” He paused, seemingly searching for the right words, before he quietly continued, “I don’t think it’s enough anymore. We have been together for so long...And we both know that something has changed. I still love you, but you deserve someone who loves you with their entire heart, like I did back then.” 

“So, what do you want to do now?” Junhee asked, trying his best to hold back his sobs. He was still not looking at Donghun, but he knew that the other had noticed him crying already anyways. His soft voice made that obvious. 

“I think...we should take a break.” It took a moment until Donghun’s words had reached Junhee’s brain and had been processed. 

“What?!” This time he did turn around, looking at Donghun with unbelieving eyes. Without really knowing, what he was doing, he crawled to the other side of the bed, grabbing his boyfriend’s hands who softly returned the touch. “Why can’t you give us a second chance?!” Donghun’s expression was as kind as always, but there was also a distance in his eyes with which he had never before looked at Junhee, mixed with endless guilt, and the younger knew that his boyfriend had already made his decision.

“I...I met someone else...” He admitted and it felt like a punch into Junhee’s stomach. 

“You cheated on me?!” He exclaimed, anger and disbelief raging inside of him but Donghun quickly shook his head, still holding onto his hands.

“No! I would never do something like that to you! However...I couldn’t do anything against my feelings. I tried! I really did but in the end...”

“You still ended up falling for them?” Donghun nodded, his expression filled with guilt and the plea for Junhee to understand him. The latter gulped, suddenly feeling sick. He pulled his hand out of the other’s grip and then tried to get as much distance between them as possible.

“I’m sorry...” Donghun whispered and Junhee felt the urge to laugh. As if the apology would somehow bring back the life and future, he had just lost. “I’ll pack some things and leave. You can have the apartment for now...I’ll ask Chan if I can move in with him for a while.” His voice sounded hoarse, as if Donghun was fighting back tears too, but Junhee didn’t want to turn around, to see, if he was right. He was too scared that he would lose the last bit of control over his body, when he would watch his boyfriend leave.

Donghun waited a little longer in silence, probably hoping for Junhee to say something, but the other kept quiet. 

“I’m so sorry...” He then apologized once more, before he walked out of the door and also Junhee’s life.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh okay so before I forget it again, I really wanted to gift this work to one of my readers that has been with me from the very beginning (As far as I can remember) and has always motivated me so much with nice comments and kudos and just being there ALWAYS 
> 
> Honestly I’m so thankful and it makes me so happy to see you not only reading my fics but also so many others and encouraging writers (especially newer ones like me when I first started) to keep on writing even, when we doubt the worth of our works 🥺 
> 
> I simply know that you will read my works, no matter what I post; which plot or ship, I know that your name will be there for one of the kudos and for that I simply wanted to say thank you uwu💕 I appreciate it a lot!
> 
> (I should have already done this for the first chapter but I’m a mess rip anyways I’m talking about The_Eye_of_the_storm for anyone who is wondering)  
> 
> 
> *ranting over*

Junhee cried the entire night. 

At some point he had made the mistake to pull out the box with all their pictures and memories from throughout the 6 years which they had spent together and to see them kissing each other or smiling happily into the camera only made everything even worse. He missed Donghun’s closeness, something he had gotten so used to that he hadn’t even thought about the possibility of it to suddenly be gone.

On the next day, Chan called him, sounding extremely worried,

“What happened between you two? Donghun suddenly showed up here yesterday, asking me if he could sleep in my apartment because apparently you two broke up and then he didn’t stop crying for nearly three hours!” Junhee had only sighed tiredly, the tears already having gotten used up some hours ago.

“We realized that we don’t love each other anymore...” It was a simple explanation that only described a very small part of everything that had happened and had lead them to where they were now, but it still was the truth. After all Junhee had noticed a long while ago that he hadn’t been as happy in their relationship as he had used to be. However, that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt or that he had already been ready to let go of Donghun like this. 

“But...but, you’ve always been together!” Chan sounded confused, like a child whose parents had just announced that they wanted to get a divorce. 

“Yes, well...He met someone else...” It took some seconds until Chan spoke again,

“Should I talk to him?” It was obvious that the information had made him angry. Junhee shook his head until he remembered that his friend wasn’t able to see it.

“No...it’s not his fault and I think we missed the chance to solve this mess a long time ago...” He sat down on one of the chairs, letting his eyes wander to the window behind which the sun was shining brightly. He snorted. Only in movies, days like this would be rainy. 

“You know what...If Donghun found himself someone else you should do the same. Don’t even think about locking yourself into your room and thinking stuff like that you are not worth it. Donghun loved you and he still cares about you and you know that...” At this Junhee didn’t reply anything, but the next day, he still forced himself to go to the supermarket and buy groceries so that he wouldn’t starve. His life sucked more than ever but he wouldn’t let Donghun think that he wasn’t capable of living without him in it. 

* * *

Like this week after week passed. At some point Donghun had shown up and gotten all his stuff from their apartment, while Junhee had still been at work and for some reason it made him sad. It wasn’t like he was able to get over a 6 years long relationship just like that in the matter of a couple of days but he had indeed gotten better and by now he simply missed talking to Donghun who had been his best friend for so many years before they had started dating. He didn’t like that he was avoiding him now. 

However, he should have been careful with what he wished for. Nearly two months after their breakup - Junhee’s life had become kind of normal again - Chan had invited him for a movie night. Of course, Junhee had agreed immediately, happy to get out of his lonely apartment, but after he had arrived at Chan’s place, he only needed to see his guilty expression to know that something had went really wrong. 

“What is it?” Junhee asked, before Chan even got the chance to start stammering.

“I...I might have invited Donghun too on accident...” he mumbled and Junhee froze. He hadn’t seen his former boyfriend since their breakup and even though he had told himself otherwise these past couple days, he suddenly wasn’t sure if he was already ready to see him again. Chan quickly continued explanation, while Junhee removed his shoes and started walking towards the living room,

“He...He said, he wouldn’t be able to make it, so I thought it’s fine and didn’t tell you but...He apparently made it after all.” He gave the older a look as if he was scared, he would start crying just at the thought of having to see his ex-boyfriend in a matter of seconds, but Junhee just shrugged.

“It’s fine. It’s not like we had a really ugly fight or something...Our breakup was kind of...mutual...” The last part wasn’t completely true but also not a lie. He had also known that their relationship wasn’t working well anymore, he had just thought that Donghun would be more willing to fight for it. “We won’t start arguing in your living room if that’s what you are scared of.” He forced himself to smile at Chan who didn’t return it and only bit on his lower lip guiltily.

“I know, I know but that’s not the problem! He—“ But the younger didn’t need to finish his sentence for Junhee to understand what the real problem was, because as soon as he stepped inside the living room, he saw it for himself.

On the sofa sat three people; Sehyoon, absorbed in his phone, Donghun and another man that Junhee didn’t know but in the way in which he had cuddled himself against Donghun’s side, it was pretty obvious in what kind of way they were related to each other.

“He brought his new boyfriend...” Chan ended his sentence quietly, stopping next to Junhee who was standing in the doorway as if his feet had gotten rooted to the ground. It didn’t take the other’s long to notice their arrival but, in the meantime, Junhee’s stomach had turned itself upside down and he started to feel sick. 

In that moment Donghun looked up, his eyes widening surprised, when they fell on him. 

“Jun-ah...” The younger didn’t know what it was; maybe how guilty Donghun’s voice sounded or the way in which his new boyfriend looked at him with so much open curiosity, but before his brain could fully grasp, what was going on, he had turned around and started running.

While he was hastily putting on his shoes, the tears, he was trying so hard to hold back, started falling and therefore the way down the stairs consisted more of him stumbling than actually running. Behind himself, he could hear Donghun and Chan calling for him but that only made him run even faster. Just like always, he didn’t want Donghun to see him cry.

Junhee had just reach the entrance to the apartment complex, feverishly trying to remember in which direction he had parked his car, when he suddenly collided with something or rather someone. 

“Woah!” The man cried out surprised, only hardly managing to not drop the pizza cartons in his hands. Junhee, who was similar surprised, looked up, already a quick apology on his lips, when his eyes met the ones of the stranger and his words immediately died in his throat. 

“Junhee? Are you all right?” Of course...out of all people, he had to run into Byeongkwan, who, once again, seemed to be extremely worried about him. “What happened?” 

Junhee opened his mouth to reply something along the lines of, “I’m fine...everything is fine”, but just like last time, he didn’t get the chance to, because suddenly there was Donghun’s voice calling for him again.

“I need to go!” He announced and wanted to walk past Byeongkwan but the younger grabbed his hand. Why couldn’t he just leave him alone for once?!

“Let me come with you...I don’t want something to happen to you.” The older didn’t answer him, simply dragging Beyongkwan towards his car. Once they had reached it, he pulled out his keys and wanted to enter the driver side but Byeongkwan was quicker, taking them out of his hand. 

“What are you doing?” Junhee wanted to know, anger boiling up inside of him. 

“I’m not gonna let you drive in this state...”, the younger explained calmly, before he pressed the pizza cartons into Junhee’s arms and then got into the car first. The older stared at him baffled for some seconds but then decided that there wasn’t much what he could do and walked over to the passenger site. 

* * *

The first couple minutes of the drive were completely silent. The encounter with Byeongkwan had made Junhee stop crying but the picture of Donghun cuddling with the stranger, like they had used to in the past, still didn’t leave his mind. Two months...longer Donghun hadn’t needed to replace him, while Junhee still wasn’t able to forget about the possible future, they had lost. Why couldn’t he just find someone too and ban the other from his head?

He had nearly forgotten about Byeongkwan who was driving his car, buried too deep in his thoughts, and therefore jumped startled, when the younger suddenly cleared his throat. 

“Hey, can I turn on the radio? It’s so...quiet...” 

“Mhm” Was the only reply he got and some seconds later, music filled the car. In the reflection of the window Junhee saw Byeongkwan glancing at him, before he focused back on the street and he knew that the time of asking no questions was up. However, he was surprised, when Byeongkwan softly chuckled. 

“You know...I really can’t help but ask myself if it’s my fault that you are crying, whenever we meet. Is it my looks?” Junhee frowned and eventually turned to the younger.

“What’s wrong with your looks? You’re good looking.” Apparently Byeongkwan hadn’t expected an answer like this, because he stared at Junhee with an open mouth, before he quickly looked back at the street, a soft blush creeping up his neck.

“Thank you...” He mumbled and Junhee just shrugged. He had merely stated a fact. “What I mean is...we met for the second time and it’s also the second time that I’m driving you home...” Junhee knew that the younger was silently asking, what had happened, but instead of answering he stared at the pizza cartons in his lap. It was already pathetic enough that Byeongkwan probably thought he was a cry baby...He didn’t also need to know about his catastrophically love life.

A soft ringing sounded and Byeongkwan glanced at his phone and then at Junhee, before he looked back out of the windshield. 

“You and Donghun broke up, huh?” The older’s assumption that either Sehyoon or Chan had texted him about the recent events got confirmed. 

“What does it matter to you if we did or not?” He could swear that he saw Byeongkwan roll his eyes at his counter question and he had to admit that he did act kind of mean. After all it was not Byeongkwan’s fault that all of this was happening but he was simply sick of thinking about Donghun all the time.

“I just thought you might want to talk...But if you don’t want to it’s okay. We can eat the pizza instead.” 

“We?” The younger smirked at him.

“I’m the one who bought it, so I definitely want my share of it.” Nobody spoke for the rest of the drive and, when Byeongkwan parked the car in front of Junhee’s apartment complex, the latter gave him an disbelieving look.

“You are serious?” 

“Yup. I think, you could really need some company right now, even though you might tell yourself otherwise.” The older opened his mouth to disagree but then decided against it and sighed.

“Okay...Do whatever you want.” He got out of the car, still carrying the pizza cartons in his arms, and Byeongkwan followed him inside. 

* * *

Junhee hated to admit it, but Byeongkwan had been right. Having the younger around and eating pizza, while watching trash TV felt way better than sitting alone in his apartment, crying. 

At first, he had still tried to keep up his attitude of being annoyed but after some time, he noticed that Byeongkwan was actually quiet fun to be around and even caught himself laughing at some of his jokes. 

“You are smiling!” The younger had cried out excited after the first time which had immediately made Junhee stop smiling again whereupon Byeongkwan had looked disappointed. 

“Why did you stop? You look so pretty, when you smile.” Junhee had frozen and, as if the other had only then noticed, what he had said, he had suddenly turned bright red. However, he still hadn’t taken back the compliment and the older had noticed that he was thankful for it. It had been a long time since someone had last called him pretty.

After that he had smiled more openly. It was as if a wall, he had built between himself and Byeongkwan, had been knocked down and he was finally able to relax around him. 

“I’m sorry that I was so mean to you earlier...you only wanted to help.” He felt the need to apologize all of a sudden and Byeongkwan looked up surprised, before a small smile appeared on his face.

“Don’t worry...Break ups suck...Everybody would be in a bad mood.” Junhee nodded and then sighed.

“Yes...it really sucks...” 

“Was it your first break up? You said that you and Donghun have been together since Highschool...” Byeongkwan seemed seriously curious and Junhee was just about to answer, when his phone chimed, telling him that he had received a text. He frowned and unlocked it, only for his body to turn completely cold. The message was from Donghun, as if he had sensed that they were currently talking about him, and Junhee wasn’t sure, if he really wanted to read it. His expression must have given away how he was feeling, because Byeongkwan gave him a worried glance.

“Everything all right?” The older thought about lying but like seemingly always around the other, he wasn’t able to and shook his head instead.

“No...It’s him.” He whispered and Byeongkwan’s expression changed to a sympathetic one. 

“Oh...Well, you don’t have to read it...” But Junhee had already clicked onto the notification. The message was short;

_“I didn’t know you would be there. Otherwise I would have never brought him. I didn’t want to hurt you...I’m sorry.”_

Junhee snorted. He knew that it wasn’t Donghun’s fault and that the other hadn’t wanted to hurt him but that still didn’t change the fact that it sucked to getting replaced so soon, after they had been dating for nearly 6 years. 

“What...is it about?” Byeongkwan asked carefully and Junhee just shrugged.

“He’s apologizing...He’s always apologizing.” He threw his phone next to himself onto the sofa and then got up to get a bottle of wine out of one of his cupboards. Byeongkwan watched him, seemingly not sure how he should react, so Junhee simply kept on talking,

“You know...after having been together for so long, I really thought that our relationship meant more to him...That I meant more to him and that he would at least give us a second chance, but instead he is happy with someone else already...” He gulped, blinking away the tears that once again had found their way into his eyes, while he fetched two wine glasses. 

“Well...whatever...” He sat back down and then poured some wine into one of the glasses, before he started gulping it down. After he had emptied it, he gave Byeongkwan a questioning look. 

“You want a glass too? Or should I get you something else? If I remember correctly, you said that you don’t like to drink.” The younger seemed to silently debate about it, before he shook his head and then grabbed the other empty glass.

“I’ll take wine too.” Junhee filled both their glasses and Byeongkwan started sipping the liquor carefully. The older snorted amused. 

“Don’t worry...I won’t judge you, if you do something weird.” 

“I’m not so sure about that...” Byeongkwan mumbled but still took a second, bigger sip. They went silent for a while, until Junhee couldn’t help but speak up again. The alcohol really made him wanting to talk.

“You know...I think, it’s not even that I was still so in love with him that I’m having such a difficult time...It’s just...all the time I imagined my future together with him and from one moment to the other that future suddenly disappeared and now I don’t know what to think anymore. I got so used to my life with him...It hurts seeing him like this...Happy and with someone else, while I feel lonely all the time...” He took another sip, while Byeongkwan nodded sympathetically.

“I get that...But the only thing, you can do, is trying to live your own life and maybe finally do all the things, you couldn’t do, while he was around. I mean, look at yourself! There are probably many guys who would want to date you.” Junhee stared at him for some seconds, before he started to laugh. 

“Sure...But I don’t know, if I want a relationship again so quickly...I kinda feel like I missed out on so many things...” He could swear that something like disappointment flashed over the younger’s face, but it disappeared too quickly for him to be sure, followed by Byeongkwan shrugging. 

“Well...You obviously don’t have to. Maybe you can find a new hobby?”

“Maybe...” They started drinking in silence again and it didn’t take too long for Junhee to feel the alcohol having an effect on him. Byeongkwan seemed to feel the same, because he started laughing about the most random things that people said in the TV show, they were watching, while his cheeks turned more and more red. Junhee had to admit that it looked adorable and since his brain was working extremely slow, he had already softly pinched Byeongkwan’s cheek with his right hand, before it could tell him that this would probably be a bad idea. 

The younger gave him a surprised look and Junhee only started grinning brightly.

“You look really cute...” Immediately the rest of Byeongkwan’s face turned red too. “You have a girlfriend, right? Someone like you must have one. How could anyone resist you?” 

“No...I don’t have one and I prefer guys actually...” Byeongkwan mumbled, by now looking like his face was on fire. Junhee’s mouth dropped open in surprise.

“Really? That’s weird...I mean you being single…Not you being gay, obviously.” A very small part of his brain told him that it would be better for him to simply shut up now or talk about something else, but the rest of his brain had shut down and therefore he simply said whatever came to his mind first,

“Has anyone ever told you that you have really nice lips?” At this Byeongkwan groaned and Junhee frowned in confusion.

“What? I simply don’t get why you are single, when you have lips like that!” He defended himself as if that was the most normal thing to talk about with someone, he didn’t even really know, while a pout appeared on his face. Junhee was making the younger compliments and this wasn’t the reaction he had expected. Kind of rude...He could at least say thank you.

“Can you please stop talking about my lips? I told you, I do stupid things, when I drank alcohol!” Byeongkwan looked like the older’s words were causing him physical pain and it confused Junhee even more. 

“Like, what for example?” Byeongkwan stared at him for some seconds, before he slowly leaned closer, his eyes full of greed, while they wandered to Junhee’s own lips. 

“Like, kissing you...” He mumbled and then closed the remaining distance between them, pressing their lips together and like this silencing Junhee’s small sound of surprise. The reasonable part in his brain told him to push Byeongkwan away and think about, what he had said earlier; that he didn’t want a relationship again...At least not so soon, but before that thought could pierce through the alcohol that was covering his mind like a thick fog, his reflexes had already taken over and he buried his hands in Byeongkwan’s hair, returning the kiss with a passion, he had last felt three years ago. 

Somewhere in his brain he knew that this was a mistake and that he would probably regret it on the next day, but right now in this moment, there was only Byeongkwan and his soft lips that made him feel even more intoxicated than all the glasses of wine, he had drunken. 

They were kissing for what felt like an eternity, before they slowly broke away and stared at each other with wide eyes, breathing heavily. 

“I told you...alcohol makes me do dumb things.” Byeongkwan said and smiled, while he carefully tried to reorganize Junhee’s messy hair. Then he softly placed his right hand on his cheek, stroking it fondly. The touch was sending warm shivers down Junhee’s back and he couldn’t help but lean further into it while the younger continued talking,

“I know, you don’t want a relationship right now, but I really like you Junhee, and, if you eventually change your mind, I wouldn’t mind trying...” He paused, placing a second, smaller kiss on Junhee’s lips who wasn’t able to do anything else than stare at him, while his brain was still trying to process everything that was happening. 

“I really want to get to know you better...I have to tell you now, while I’m still brave enough...But... it’s probably better, if I leave now.” He let go of Junhee’s cheek and wanted to get up, when the older’s hand suddenly shot forward and grabbed his wrist. 

“Wait!” He exclaimed, not really knowing himself, what he was doing. “It’s late and you are drunk...It would be dangerous to go home now...Why don’t you stay till tomorrow?” Byeongkwan’s eyes widened in disbelief, before a bright smile appeared on his face.

“I would love to.”

* * *

When Junhee opened his eyes the next morning, the first thing that came to his mind was the question, why he was feeling so warm, even though his blanket was only covering his feet. Then suddenly the events of the last night crashed down on him and he tried to sat up in shock, only to notice that something was holding him back. Something or rather someone. 

Slowly, he turned around, his eyes falling onto Byeongkwan, peacefully sleeping next to him, while he had wrapped his arms and legs around Junhee like a koala. The older stared at him, not knowing how to react. Just which part of his brain had thought, it would be a good idea to give the younger false hope by kissing him back? After all, Junhee wasn’t interested in Byeongkwan. Or was he...?

While he was sleeping, the younger was softly pouting and immediately Junhee’s mind went back to the kiss. He should regret it; blame it all on the wine and still, his heart couldn’t help but flutter at the memory. It had felt good, really good and there was no use in denying that, other than trying to save his heart from falling too deeply too quickly again and getting it broken afterwards. 

Junhee gulped and wanted to carefully untangle Byeongkwan’s limbs so that he was able to get up and away from his closeness that felt too much but also kind of good at the same time. The emotions confused Junhee and he didn’t want to be confused about them. He knew where this would lead him and he wasn’t ready for that yet.

However, he hadn’t even managed to get one of Byeongkwan’s arms off himself, when the younger’s eyelashes suddenly started flattering, before he opened them and he gave Junhee a sleepy look that made his stomach turn upside down but in a good way. 

“Morning...” The other greeted him, his voice still sounding hoarse and Junhee felt goosebumps crawling up his neck. 

“Morning...” He replied, suddenly breathless. Just how had Byeongkwan managed to get such an impact on him in such a short time? They didn’t even really know each other! His past self would have never made out with him, neither slept and cuddled with him afterwards. Again, he blamed it on the alcohol but he knew that it wasn’t the only reason. 

“Shit!” Byeongkwan suddenly exclaimed, his brain seemingly eventually having caught up with the events too and he immediately pulled back his arms and legs that had still held on tightly onto Junhee’s body. The latter hated that he already started missing the warmth, not even five seconds later. 

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Byeongkwan sat up, his eyes widened and Junhee noticed that he was wearing one of his sleeping shirts. Nice, so his drunken self had even given him clothes to sleep in as if they were dating. His heart was apparently more desperate than he had thought. Meanwhile, Byeongkwan started to look more and more distressed.

“I...The kiss...It’s...the alcohol!” The younger started stammering an explanation and Junhee sighed, before he sat up too. 

“It’s okay...”

“No, it’s not! I simply kissed you and took advantage of the fact that you were drunk and then I even took your offer to sleep in your bed instead of insisting to sleep on the sofa and—“

“You were drunk too, its not your fault.” Beyongkwan stopped rambling but his face made it obvious how embarrassed and guilty he was feeling. 

“It’s probably better if I go home now...” He eventually whispered, head lowered as if he was trying to make himself even smaller than he already was. He got up from the bed and grabbed his clothes that were lying scattered on the floor around them, while Junhee watched him, the chaos still raging in his mind. In the end his brain came up with a great idea, once again...

“Do you want breakfast?” Byeongkwan looked up, looking as surprised as Junhee felt and his eyes started glowing. 

“Why not...” 

Like this they found themselves awkwardly sitting across from each other not much later, shoveling spoons full of cereal into their mouths, which Junhee had found in a dark corner in one of his cupboards. 

He regretted that he had offered Byeongkwan to stay longer and he was pretty sure that the other also regretted having agreed to it. The silence was heavy with all the things, they needed to talk about, and Junhee couldn’t help but glance at Byeongkwan again and again, whenever the younger wasn’t looking, his eyes traveling to his lips completely on their own. 

In the end it was Byeongkwan who broke the silence first,

“So...what should we do now?” He asked without looking up from his empty bowl and Junhee bit on his lower lip. He had no idea, what he should reply and therefore he waited for the other to keep on talking.

“You know...I might have been drunk but I still meant the things, I said. I just want you to know that...” He took a deep breath, his face resembling a tomato, and then directly met Junhee’s stare. “I like you...” 

Hearing a confession like this, while he had been drunk, had made his heart beat faster but Byeongkwan saying it again, completely sober, made Junhee feel like it wanted to jump out of his chest. Still, there were too many doubts; too many things that spoke against the small idea that had formed itself in a tiny corner in Junhee’s head.

His eyes wandered to his lap, where he nervously started playing with the hem of his shirt. 

“You deserve someone better than me...What if I only use you to get over Donghun?” That was actually Junhee’s own fear. His emotions were a mess and he was scared that if he would give Byeongkwan a chance, one day, he would wake up and realize that all of it had only been a stupid coping mechanism. He didn’t want to hurt the younger who was now smiling at him with so much trust that it felt like a dagger stabbing his heart. 

“I know, you would never do that...Also we don’t have to start dating today. You can think about it as much as you want and I understand if it’s too much for you. However, if you change your mind...” he pulled out his phone and typed something, before Junhee’s own phone light up. It was a simple sticker of a happy kitten jumping around and the older immediately knew who the unfamiliar number belonged to. 

“I asked Chan for your number a while ago...” The younger explained at his questioning expression, once again turning red. “Anyways, you can call or text me...If you change your mind...Or if you simply want to talk. Even if you are not interested in me that way, I would still like to get to know you better...as friends.” Junhee thought about it, before he ran a hand through his already messy hair and then nodded.

“All right...But...I can’t make any promises.” Again, Byeongkwan smiled. 

“Of course, but that’s life, isn’t it?”

* * *

If Junhee had thought that he would forget about Byeongkwan again as soon as the latter had gone home, he quickly had to discover that he had been wrong. The day passed very slowly and he tried his best to finish some work, he had taken home over the weekend, but no matter how hard he tried, he wasn’t able to focus. 

Everything; every word seemed to remind him of Byeongkwan and it drove him insane. Why couldn’t he simply forget about the whole incident again? It had only been a kiss! Many people went out partying and kissed strangers without falling for them, so why wasn’t Junhee’s own heart able to take it slow, too, instead of jumping right into this mess?

He groaned frustrated and buried his head in his hands. Outside, the rain softly pattered against his window and the sound was weirdly comforting. 

“Just get out of my head...” He groaned again but then caught himself glancing at his phone on the table next to him. Even though he didn’t want to admit it, he had secretly hoped for Byeongkwan to text him. It didn’t matter what; a sticker would be fine too. However, till now he hadn’t received any new messages and Junhee himself wasn’t brave enough to send a text to the younger. 

He tried to focus for another fifteen minutes, before he eventually gave up and decided to go and grab some food instead. 

Walking through the rain with an umbrella turned out to be even more therapeutic than only the rain sound itself and slowly Junhee felt his mind and body relaxing again. That was, until his eyes fell onto a couple in front of him, holding hands, while they were giggling happily and immediately the longingly feeling was back. However, while only two days ago, he had still missed Donghun in moments like this, there was now a different person appearing in his mind and he quickly shook his head. 

“No, no, no!” He scolded himself, “I can’t...” But before he had even finished the sentence, he had already pulled out his phone and texted Chan,

“ _Can you send me Byeongkwan’s address please? I want to bring him dinner to thank him for always driving me home._ ” It wasn’t the complete truth but his best friend didn’t need to know anything about all of this yet. 

Nearly immediately, he got a reply, consisting of the address and some emojis that made it obvious that Chan probably already knew way more than Junhee wanted him to know. Still, he could face that problem another time. Right now, he had to do something very dumb.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uhm...I see you Junhee lmao who wouldn't catch feelings for Byeongkwan???
> 
> Feedback is always welcome <3 
> 
> My Twitter: @babbl1ng


	3. Chapter 3

Nothing. 

Junhee had rang the doorbell three times now and still there was nobody opening him. He frowned, uneasiness spreading in his body. 

Didn’t Byeongkwan want to see him? Had he changed his mind and realized that he wanted someone better than Junhee after all? That thought made him feel more disappointed than he liked to admit and he sighed, turning around while pulling out his phone. Maybe, the younger simply had went out? Not everybody locked themselves into their homes like Junhee did after an incident like this...

He was just debating, whether he should simply call or text Byeongkwan after all, when suddenly noises from the staircase signalized him that someone was apparently running up the stairs. Junhee quickly started searching for a place to hide, not wanting to look like a weird stalker, but before he could make up his mind, the door to the staircase opened and Byeongkwan stumbled into the corridor. 

Junhee stared at him surprised, noticing his wet hair, while the younger tried to catch his breath. Had he run through the rain and even up the stairs? But why? He hadn’t even known that Junhee was waiting for him, except...But there was no need to finish his thought since Byeongkwan confirmed it himself, still breathing heavily,

“Chan-ah...told me, you wanted to see me...?” Of course, that little traitor.

Junhee thought about, what he should answer, but nothing came to his mind. What was it that had made him come here? What did he want to tell Byeongkwan? He didn’t even know it himself. However, before the rising panic could paralyze him, his body acted completely on its own. He rushed forward and hungrily pressed his lips onto Byeongkwan’s, not caring how cold the younger’s wet skin and clothes felt under his hands. 

The other seemed surprised by his sudden actions, but it didn’t take him long until he returned the kiss not any less passionately and wrapped his arms around Junhee’s neck. He had no idea how long they stayed like this, but they only stopped kissing, when suddenly the doors of the elevator next to them opened with a “ping” and a family with two small children walked out, looking at them as if they had just asked their children if they wanted to see pornography. 

Junhee tried his best to hold in his laugh, but as soon as the family had disappeared in their apartment, it broke out of him and he had to hold onto Byeongkwan for support to not fall to the ground.

“Have you seen their faces? They looked so angry!” He kept on laughing, while the younger watched him, a sheepish smile on his face.

“Yes...I saw it...I’ll probably have to move apartments now...” Slowly the older calmed down again and, when he looked at Byeongkwan whose cheeks were still slightly pink, he realized, what he had just done and immediately his own face turned red too. 

“I...uhhh...” He wanted to let go of the younger’s arm, he had still held onto in panic, but Byeongkwan softly took his hand in his own.

“Did you only come here to kiss me or was there something, you wanted to tell me?” 

“Both.” It shot out of Junhee’s mouth and he hated that once again, he had acted and spoken without thinking about it first. “I...I thought about, what you said and...maybe we can try it...? Dating, I mean...” The younger’s eyes grew wide, making him look like a puppy.

“Really?” Junhee nodded, followed by huge smile blooming on Byeongkwan’s face, before he pulled him into a tight hug. “You won’t regret it!”

“That sounds like you just sold me something...” Still, the older wasn’t able to suppress his own grin and, when Byeongkwan let go of him again, he gave him a kiss on the cheek which immediately turned pink again. 

“Cute...” He whispered to himself, not loud enough for the younger to hear who was already texting his best friend the good news. 

There were still doubts but right now Junhee felt happy and that was, what counted. 

* * *

The next day Junhee found himself smiling throughout the entire day. Even though he had not gotten much sleep (Byeongkwan had invited him for dinner and they had talked for hours...And maybe also kissed some more), he didn’t feel tired. Happiness spread in his entire body, whenever he thought of his new boyfriend and the fact that they were planning on meeting for lunch on the next day. 

“You know...your smile is slowly getting scary...” His colleague stated, giving him a thoughtful glance, while she placed some papers on his desk. “I haven’t seen you glowing like this in years! What happened?” Junhee only shrugged, the grin on his face growing even wider.

“Something good...” 

“Did Donghun finally propose to you?” Immediately the smile faded, before he shook his head. He had been so occupied with thinking about Byeongkwan and how great it felt to be around him that he had nearly forgotten about what he had lost in exchange.

“No...We broke up a while ago...” 

“What?!” Misu stared at him with wide eyes. 

“Yes, well...stuff like that happens and I think it was for the best...” 

“Then what are you so happy about? Did you already find someone new?” Junhee didn’t answer but in the way in which her eyes started glowing, he knew that he didn’t need to. “Oh wow! Jun you Casanova!” The other frowned, feeling his face turning hot.

“What do you mean Casanova? I’m really not...” 

“You need to show me a picture right now!” She demanded and Junhee hesitantly complied, not being able to suppress his proudness, when Misu’s mouth dropped open. 

“You _are_ a Casanova! Look at him, he is gorgeous! And young too! Where does he work?” By now Junhee’s face was burning. He wasn’t used to having conversations like this. When he had first started working here, Donghun and him had already been dating for quite a long time. 

“He is in his senior year in university...” At his answer a smirk appeared on Misu’s face and she started wiggling her eyebrows. 

“You are right...You separating from Donghun probably was the right thing indeed. Do you think, I’ll find someone younger too, if I divorce my husband?” 

“Don’t do that!” Junhee exclaimed and Misu started laughing.

“I’m just joking. I’m sorry you had to go through a break up but it’s probably good for you to finally see that you can survive without Donghun and have some fun instead.”

“It’s not only fun! I really like him.” Misu gave him a sincere smile, before she patted his shoulder. 

“I know you do Jun... And I think that this time, it might work out for you.” 

* * *

Junhee had thought that one conversation like this was enough for at least two days, but, later, when he arrived at home, he got surprised by Sehyoon who was leaning against the wall next to his door. Junhee frowned. Why was the other waiting for him here? They had never really gotten to know each other so what did he want? Had Byeongkwan sent him? 

“Uhhh...hi?” He greeted Sehyoon, once he had gotten close enough. The older just looked at him with a serious expression.

“We need to talk.” He then announced and Junhee had no other option than to invite him inside. 

“Byeongkwan told me, you two are dating now.” Sehyoon’s voice sounded cold and distant and it was hard for Junhee to match him to the nice man who had been all smiles when he had first met him at Chan’s birthday party some months ago. 

“We...are...” He confirmed his statement, for some reason feeling extremely intimidated. This Sehyoon was kind of scary. 

“Why?” The question was so simple and came so sudden that Junhee nearly started to laugh.

“What why?”

“Why did you agree to date him?” He blinked confused.

“Well...because I like him...?” Sehyoon didn’t look very convinced. 

“You do know that if Byeongkwan gets hurt, I’ll make you pay for it?” At this Junhee couldn’t help but gasp offended. 

“Hey! I know that we don’t know each other very well, but I would never deliberately hurt him! I really like him, okay?” His anger didn’t seem to impress the older much who only gave him another cold glance. 

“Byeongkwan deserves someone who treats him well. Someone who tells him how much he loves him every day, who gives him kisses on the cheek, notices, when something is up and doesn’t get annoyed at how clingy he sometimes gets.” While Sehyoon was speaking, it was as if the ice in his eyes was slowly melting and realization hit Junhee. “He always tries to act all strong and tough, but he has a soft heart...”

“You like him, don’t you...” Sehyoon flinched and Junhee knew that he had hit the bullet’s eye.

“He’s my best friend for a long time now...” That hadn’t been a direct no.

“Look...Sehyoon, I’m sorry...I didn’t know you have feelings for him...” 

“I don’t!” It suddenly broke out of the older but the pain and anger in his eyes told Junhee otherwise. Guilt started crawling through his body and he felt bad for Sehyoon. How much must it hurt to love someone and hope for them to eventually return your feelings, only for them to fall for somebody else right in front of your eyes? 

“Does...does Byeongkwan know?” Junhee hesitantly asked after some seconds of silence and carefully looked at Sehyoon who was staring outside the window instead. His face looked completely calm, but his body was tense and his hands were clenched to fists in his lap. He didn’t answer immediately and after some minutes had passed, Junhee thought Sehyoon would deny it again or simply leave but to his surprise the older slowly shook his head instead. 

“No...I never told him...I knew, he wasn’t feeling the same way and I didn’t want to burden him.” Junhee nodded.

“I get that...” And he really did. He would probably have acted the same way, even though it meant, his feelings were slowly eating him up from inside. There probably was nothing more painful than kept in emotions.

“Do you hate me now?” Another question which Junhee hadn’t excepted. He frowned confused.

“Why...why should I hate you?” 

“Because I’m in love with your boyfriend...and I’m always around Byeongkwan. Aren’t you scared that I’ll try to steal him away from you?” 

“Of course, I don’t hate you! You can’t control feelings like that and also...I know how much you care for Byeongkwan...You’ll do, what you think is right for him...I trust you.” 

“Then what about you? Can I trust you that you won’t hurt him?” This time their eyes met and Junhee tried to put as much sincerity into his stare as he was capable of.

“Yes...I’ll try my best to make sure that he won’t get hurt...” 

“Good...” Sehyoon said, while he got up and slowly made his way towards the door without waiting for the other to follow him. However, before he stepped outside, he turned around one last time. “You know, it hurts, having to let him go...But I’m glad I lost him to someone like you instead of some asshole...Even though it also means I can’t even hate you and that sucks...” Junhee gave him a sad smile and to his surprise the older returned it. 

“You didn’t lose him...Byeongkwan is still your best friend. Also, we only started dating yesterday. Maybe, he’ll soon realize that someone as old as me is too boring for him anyways...” At this Sehyoon’s smile deepened.

“Oh Junhee...there are many things you still need to learn about him.” The younger wasn’t entirely sure, what he meant by that, but before he could ask, Sehyoon had already disappeared into the dark hallway. 

* * *

Byeongkwan was late. They both had been supposed to meet for lunch at 12 but eventually it had turned 1pm without the younger showing up. 

Junhee had sent his boyfriend multiple text messages, asking him, why he wasn’t showing up or if something had happened but he didn’t get any replies. While he had still been sure that Byeongkwan would eventually show up for the first 30 minutes, he gave up after an hour had passed. Instead he ordered lunch for himself, trying his best to not sink in doubts and self-pity. 

Beyongkwan probably had a reason. He wouldn’t just not show up without telling Junhee in advance. Except...except he had changed his mind after all. Junhee took a deep breath and tried to brush away his negative thoughts. Everything was fine. Byeongkwan probably just had to stay in University longer than planned and didn’t have time to tell him. 

Junhee still started silently debating whether he should order a glass of wine this early into the day, when suddenly someone hastily walked up to his table, panting heavily. He looked up confused and right into his boyfriend’s apologetic face.

“Byeongkwan!” He exclaimed surprised and the latter awkwardly sat down on the second chair, before he started taking off his coat and scarf. 

“Hey...” He greeted Junhee lamely, “I’m so sorry, I made you wait like this...Are you mad at me?” Junhee only shook his head. There was nothing more than relief rushing through his body. Byeongkwan had showed up after all! Byeongkwan still wanted to date him!

“It’s okay...Uhmm...I already ordered though, because I thought you wouldn’t...” He didn’t finish his sentence, not wanting to make Byeongkwan feel even worse than he seemingly already did. 

“Oh...okay...no problem.” Junhee quickly waved for the waiter to bring them the menu, before he carefully observed Byeongkwan. Something was different about him. At first Junhee had blamed the fact that he must have been in a hurry to get here but, when the younger still kept on avoiding his gaze and nervously started tapping against his glass with his fingers, he knew that something wasn’t right. 

Junhee frowned.

“Is everything all right?” 

“Huh?” Byeongkwan looked at him confused, apparently having been somewhere else with his thoughts. That, too, was unusual for him. “No...everything is fine...I just...” His voice trailed off and Junhee sighed, before he softly took Byeongkwan’s hand in his. The younger flinched, but he didn’t pull away and he took that as a good sign

“I know, we don’t know each other for very long yet, but I can see that something is up and I just want you to know that you can talk to me...Maybe I can help.” They locked eyes for a moment and there was so much vulnerability in Byeongkwan’s face that Junhee thought about getting up and giving him a hug. Then he felt the younger squeeze his hand and he couldn’t help but also take his other one.

“I don’t really know how to talk to you about it...I don’t want you to get to wrong conclusions...” Junhee just nodded, waiting for the other to continue, “Shortly, before I wanted to leave for our date, Sehyoon suddenly called me and asked me, if he could talk to me. He sounded like he was having a hard time, so I agreed...” He stopped and looked down onto their intertwined hands. “He said, he’s in love with me...” Again, there was silence in which Byeongkwan was probably waiting for Junhee to act surprised. After all he didn’t know that he had figured it out on his own already. 

“I...I told him that I can’t like him that way...that I like you, but...I don’t know what to do now. He is my best friend and it hurts to see him suffer...” 

“I know...” Junhee mumbled, trying to comfort Byeongkwan by stroking his hand since the younger looked clearly upset. “But I think he really needed to confess to you in order to get over his feelings. It doesn’t mean, you have to stop being friends...You’ll get through this together.” 

“So, you aren’t mad at him?” 

“Why are you both expecting me to be mad about something like this?” At this Byeongkwan frowned. 

“Both? Wait...Did you two talk about it?” Junhee quickly told him about the events of the former day and Byeongkwan seemed like it made him forget what had been their actual topic.

“He seriously went to you to threaten you to treat me, right? I’m gonna kill him!” He let go of Junhee’s hands to rummage through his pockets and find his phone, but the older quickly leant forward and pressed a kiss to his lips, not caring that everybody in the restaurant could see them. Once he had pulled away again, Byeongkwan stared at him baffled, his hands still clutching his phone.

“Whaa...why...?” He asked, apparently not able to grasp a proper thought and Junhee was happy that his distraction had worked. Byeongkwan’s anger had disappeared like smoke in the wind.

“It’s our first real date...Stop wasting so much thoughts on your best friend and look at me instead...Or I might get jealous after all.” He mumbled and smirked at the way, how the younger blushed, before he leant forward for a second and longer kiss. 

He had no idea, if their relationship would work out but he really wanted to try his best, because Byeongkwan made him fall way too quickly.

* * *

“Happy Birthday Chan-ah!” Byeongkwan and Junhee exclaimed simultaneously and the younger grinned at them.

“You are nearly an hour late!” He complained, while taking his present and inviting them both inside. The two shared guilty glances.

“Sorry about that...we’ll try to be on time next time...” Junhee apologised but Chan only rolled his eyes.

“You say that every time...” 

“True...” They grinned at each other and Byeongkwan took Junhee’s hand in his, while they made their way to Chan’s living room. However, it didn’t stay there for long since, once they had stepped through the door, the younger let go of him again and threw himself into Sehyoon’s arms who caught his best friend with a noise of surprise, followed by a big smile blooming on his face. 

“Jun is feeding you too well!” He exclaimed, turning on the spot with Byeongkwan in his arms as if the younger was a child and not a grown-up man. “You became damn heavy!” The other simply ignored his teasing and let go of him again, before he quickly ripped his phone out of his hand. He looked at it for a second and then eyed Sehyoon in disbelief. 

“You two are still not dating?” His friend blushed. 

“I don’t think, he likes me that way...” Beyongkwan’s mouth dropped open. 

“You’re so oblivious!” They kept on bickering like this and Junhee watched them with a fond smile for a moment, before he turned to Chan who was rearranging his presents on his coffee table. There were four; one probably from his parents, one from Sehyoon, one from him and Byeongkwan and then a last one which could only belong to a certain person. 

“Where are Donghun and Yejoon?” 

“Oh, they are in the kitchen. After my last party, Donghun didn’t want me to cook again and since Yeona isn’t coming until after dinner, he offered to do it.” Junhee looked at him surprised. 

“Yeona is coming?” Chan nodded excitedly, a soft blush creeping up his neck. 

“Yes! She felt so sorry that she couldn’t make it to my last birthday...I didn’t want her to skip classes but you know how she can be.” The older smiled and nodded, feeling happy for his best friend. Chan’s girlfriend was similar to the younger in many ways so it shouldn’t surprise him too much that she was traveling 6 hours to be with him on his birthday. 

“All right...I’ll go and greet Donghun.” He made his way towards the kitchen, mentally preparing to meet the older’s new boyfriend. By now they had seen each other more than once but even though Yejoon was nice and they both tried their best to get along, it was still pretty awkward between them.

“Hey...” Donghun and Yejoon looked up at his greeting and Junhee quickly went over to them to place the salad, he had brought, on one of the counters. 

“Thanks.” Yejoon smiled at him and Junhee returned it. “Then I’ll quickly go and get the dressings. I forgot them in the car.” He explained for Junhee who nodded and then watched him leave, suddenly extremely aware of Donghun next to him who was stirring something in a pot on the stove.

This was the first time that they were alone since the night they had broken up. The memory felt as if it had happened so long ago but, when Junhee looked up and right into Donghun’s face that was smiling at him with so much sincerity, their former relationship suddenly seemed to crash down on Junhee again. It was as if no time had passed at all and as if they were back in high school, where they had met for the first time and the older had given him the exact same look.

“How are you?” Donghun wanted to know, pulling him out of his weird trance and the moment passed. 

“Oh...I’m fine...You know, work is a bit stressful but except that...How about you?” However, now there was concern in the older’s expression.

“Does your boss still have these weird mood swings? Does he bother you too much?” Junhee smiled and shook his head. 

“Naaah, we got a new boss now...luckily. She is way better, don’t worry.” 

“Ahh that’s good...Yes, well...I’m fine too. Everything is going pretty smoothly, really. Oh, we finally got the project done, by the way. The one, we were working on back then...” At this Junhee’s eyes lit up. 

“Really? That’s great!” He exclaimed and he meant it. After all, he could still remember clearly how hard the older had worked for this. They looked at each other for a moment, simply smiling without really knowing what to say, before a timer on Donghun’s phone went off.

“Oh, the soup!” He searched for something in one of the cupboards, while Junhee simply watched him, feeling useless. 

“Can I...help?” He asked awkwardly and Donghun pointed at something behind him. 

“Could you give me the tomatoes please?” He quickly grabbed the bowl and gave it to the other. Like this, they kept on working and eventually even started talking again. It felt similar to when Donghun had still been the person around which Junhee had felt the most comfortable and he realised how much he had missed talking to the older. Not as his boyfriend but the best friend he had also lost after their break up. Yejoon showed up with the dressings at some point too, but quickly excused himself again to go and set the table.

“Can you keep on stirring the soup? I’ll get the spices out of the cupboard.” Donghun asked once they were nearly done cooking and Junhee took his place in front of the stove. However, when the older wanted to carefully throw in, whatever was still needed, the soup splashed out of the pot and onto Junhee’s bare skin. He hissed in pain and quickly pulled away his hand, staring at his reddening skin as if he had never gotten burned before. 

“Shit, Jun-ah!” Donghun exclaimed, hastily putting away the cutting board and then carefully grabbed his hand to guide it under the cold stream of the water in the sink. “I’m so sorry, I should have been more careful.” Junhee just shook his head, the pain already lessening.

“It’s not your fault and I won’t die because of this. It’s not even a bad burn, don’t worry.” He smiled at Donghun who was still looking extremely guilty. “You haven’t changed a bit...You are still as overly worried as always.” The older rolled his eyes at him, not letting go of his hand.

“And you are still as annoying...Always scaring me like this...” Junhee chuckled amused and opened his mouth to reply something, when suddenly the door opened and Byeongkwan walked inside, stopping in his tracks as soon as his eyes fell onto their a bit awkward situation. His gaze wandered from Junhee to Donghun who was still holding his hand under the water, before a frown appeared on his face.

“What happened?” Donghun gave him a warm smile which the younger returned but Junhee could clearly see how fake it was.

“Hi Byeongkwan...uhh...Junhee burned himself...” The older then explained and immediately worry replaced the former confusion. Quickly Byeongkwan walked over to them, pushing away Donghun’s hand so that he could carefully grab it.

“Does it hurt a lot?” He wanted to know and Junhee softly smiled at him, while he shook his head. 

“It’s okay, don’t worry. I was just a bit startled that’s all.” Byeongkwan carefully lifted his hand and observed it, before he nodded and then placed a soft kiss onto the burn. 

“It’s gonna heal faster like that...” He explained and smiled but Junhee didn’t miss the way in which his boyfriend glanced at Donghun, when he intertwined their fingers. Meanwhile, the older had awkwardly started stirring the soup again.

“Uhm...I’m nearly done so you can go back to the others again, if you want.” Immediately Byeongkwan pulled him out of the kitchen, but once they were outside, Junhee forced him to stop. The younger gave him a confused look.

“Why—?” 

“Can you please explain to me, why you are acting like this?” Immediately a guilty expression appeared on Byeongkwan’s face. 

“I’m sorry...” He mumbled, his eyes glued to their still intertwined hands. “I don’t want to be annoying but it’s just so hard...” That statement only confused Junhee even more. 

“What is hard?” 

“To not be jealous! Especially, because he was your boyfriend....” Immediately Junhee’s former anger disappeared. 

“You are jealous of Donghun? But you don’t need to be...He has a boyfriend and I have a wonderful boyfriend too.” Byeongkwan blushed at the compliment but at the same time he looked, like he wanted to turn invisible.

“I know that there is no reason to...I trust you...But I don’t trust him and sometimes it’s too hard for me to suppress it...I’m workings on it though!” He looked at Junhee as if he was scared that his jealousy would immediately make him wanting to break up with him. 

“Awe baby...Don’t give me that look...It’s fine...” He said and then pulled Byeongkwan into a hug who eagerly returned it. “I won’t go back to him as long as I have you...I promise...” 

“I know...” The younger mumbled into his shirt, only holding onto him even tighter. “I trust you.” They let go of each other again and Junhee lifted his right hand, splaying out his pinky. 

“Let’s promise that we’ll talk to each other, when something isn’t right okay? Always...” Byeongkwan nodded and they intertwined their pinkies.

“Promise.” They smiled at each other warmly and in that moment, it was clearer to Junhee than ever before that as long as they both tried, they would make it work. 

“Is it too cheesy, when I tell you that I want to stay with you for a long long time?” He asked and Byeongkwan shook his head. 

“How can something like this be too cheesy if I want the same? Hearing you say this makes me happy and isn’t happiness something beautiful?” 

Once again Byeongkwan was right and once again Junhee couldn’t help himself but thank his life for everything that had led him to this point, even the bad things. 

Junhee didn’t know how long they would stay together but he knew that this time he would fight harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to post the last chapter :") I wrote it ages ago but I always forgot to post it rip  
> Anways I hope you enjoyed this fic even tho I feel like most people are mad at me for breaking up Dongjun and not letting Wowkwan happen lmao Sorry guys, I have so many Dongjun and Wowkwan fics and I simply wanted to try something else  
> I really love Junkwan so they finally got their own work uwu
> 
> It's only a short fic since it originally was supposed to be a one shot so excuse the time jumps etc I tried my best to still pace it well :)
> 
> If you liked this fic pls consider leaving some feedback and kudos or recommend it to friends since that's the best support you can give me uwu 
> 
> Thank you all so much for waiting and reading! See you soon~ <3
> 
> My Twitter: @babbl1ng

**Author's Note:**

> So, I already finished writing this fic (for once, pls be proud) and therefore it won't take me too long to update. However, there won't be an update before new year bc I'll be in Japan (and also see A.C.E at the Christmas fan meeting wtf adjhlakb) 
> 
> Please let me know how you like this fic till now...I kinda wanted to try doing something different with the ships so here we have a Dongjun break up rip Sorry but it had to be done. Just wait and see ^^
> 
> My Twitter: [@Babbl1ng](https://twitter.com/Babbl1ng) :D


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